7 Signs You Might Be a 'Snow Plow' Parent

Move over tiger moms; hover elsewhere helicopter parents. There's a new type of parent in town -- the "snow plow" parent. They come with the same motives as the others -- to produce superior children -- but they take a slightly different approach.

According to an ABC story that highlighted the growing trend, snow plow parents are those who attempt to push life's obstacles out of their children's way. It can be with anything -- from friends to school and sports -- and they'll do anything to ensure their children don't fail. They interviewed one mom who wanted her son to get a good position on his baseball team. She brought lemon cupcakes to practice one day, but when she realized the coach didn't like lemon, she baked some new vanilla ones and delivered them personally to his house.

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That's a fairly tame example, but there are plenty of others who go to more extreme lengths. And while they may think they're helping their kids, they're really setting them up for failure later in life when they're ill-equipped to handle the real world.

It's understandable to some degree, as we all want what's best for our kids, but there's a definite line as to what's over-the-top, and some ... plow right over it. Here are seven signs you might have snow plow parent tendencies:

1. If you've ever approached your child's school and tried to get your kid switched to another class just because her friends aren't in the one to which she was assigned. (Lord forbid she has to make new ones.)

2. If you've ever offered incentives/bribes to a coach to help your kid make a team or get more playing time.

3. If you've ever screamed at a referee or charged the field to argue with an umpire for making a "wrong" call against your kid or her team.

4. If you "help" your child with every homework assignment and project (i.e., pretty much do it for them).

5. If you've ever helped your child try to get a grade changed ... especially when she's in college.

7. Finally, remember that mom, Wanda Holloway, who plotted to have the mother of her daughter's cheerleading rival killed? Yeah, if you can kind of see where she was coming from, you're most definitely a snow plow parent.